TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Spring Training Report #4

Published on March 10, 2011 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SURPRISE, AZ - There is no shortage of baseball in Arizona these days. The Kansas City Royals have played 13 games in 12 days since Spring Training began, and while the main purpose of the preseason is to get the big-league roster ready for the games that count, there have been plenty of opportunities for the team's prospects to show off their skills.

The talents of top prospects Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer have been on display for all to see. Kila Ka'aihue is bashing his way into the opening-day lineup. But the sheer volume of baseball being played has given under-the-radar players a chance to impress the major league staff.

On Monday, Mar. 7, the Royals had their first set of split-squad games. They hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks in the afternoon before traveling to the San Diego Padres' complex in Peoria for the nightcap.

Most teams do not send their top players on the road on split-squad days, giving non-roster invitees and even players from minor league camp an opportunity to step up. And against San Diego on Monday, two lesser-known hitters took advantage in the Royals' 11-3 win.

In the top of the seventh inning, Nick Francis blasted a solo home run to left-center to give Kansas City an extra insurance run. The game was Francis' lone appearance to this point in Spring Training, and though he will spend most of the spring in minor league camp, he relished this opportunity.

""I took off. I hit it on a line, so I wasn't really sure it was over the fence or not, so I was just trying to hustle the best I can, I was just trying to show them how fast I am," he told MLB.com. "Overall, I had a good time, we got a win, and that's what counts."

Francis spent 2010 as a key component of Advanced-A Wilmington's lineup, and the 25-year-old is expected to move up to Northwest Arkansas this season. Another hitter who shined in that split-squad game is even farther away from the majors.

Brett Eibner is considered the organization's 10th-best prospect by Baseball America, but because he signed late in the summer, the former Arkansas Razorback has yet to appear in a professional game. Like Francis, Eibner made his spring debut against the Padres and came away with an extra-base hit, a triple to deep right. The Royals' manager enjoyed seeing Eibner and Francis in action.

"That's fun to bring those guys up and let 'em play and experience a big league game," Ned Yost told MLB.com. "Francis was about as excited as you could be when he hit that one. You could hear him whooping and hollering around the bases a little bit. That's what makes this game fun."

Beyond just that split-squad game, the Royals have given other minor-leaguers a chance to play throughout the spring. Back on Mar. 3, former Natural Jamie Romak homered in his first Spring Training appearance. Another 2010 Natural, Paulo Orlando, singled and stole a base in the split-squad game against Arizona.

The hitters are not alone. Though top prospects like John Lamb have received much of the attention - well-deserved as it may be - lefty Will Smith has taken advantage of his first spring with this organization.

A midseason trade brought Smith over from the Angels' organization, where he was the No. 14 prospect entering 2010. With Kansas City, he does not even appear in this year's Baseball America list of the club's top 30, far behind Lamb, Mike Montgomery and others.

After a dominant stretch in Wilmington, Smith moved up to Double-A for the playoffs, starting the Naturals championship-clinching game against Midland. In Arizona he has picked up where he left off, tossing three perfect innings so far in camp, a performance that has definitely been noticed.

"He acts like he's 35 years old, he's very calm, I love his demeanor on the mound, I love the way he goes about his business," Yost told MLB.com. "He just gets the ball, comes right at you, changes speeds. His composure is that of a 10-year veteran. That's what I've seen so far -- very impressive."

The Royals hope to build a contender from within, an extensive process that they hope will come to fruition over the next few seasons. To be sure, a huge part of that process involves the elite prospects closest to the majors - Hosmer, Moustakas and the rest.

But every successful baseball team needs all 25 players on the roster to contribute and needs a surplus of players to fill in when starters head to the disabled list. A large part of the roster will be made up of unheralded players currently making their way through the system, a group that includes Francis, Smith and a host of others.

Their success in the minor leagues has earned them a look this spring, a chance that many have taken advantage of. If things go as planned, they will build on this momentum in 2011 and beyond, developing into valuable pieces of an American League contender.

More Texas League News and Notes

Cutting the roster down to size: The Royals began camp with 65 players - the entirety of the 40-man roster plus a group of non-roster invitees. That number has now been trimmed to 59, as the club has reassigned several players to minor league camp, including former Naturals Johnny Giavotella, Patrick Keating, Ryan Eigsti and Brandon Sisk. These transactions are somewhat nebulous at this point, though, as these players could still make cameos in Spring Training games before minor league exhibitions begin next week.

More 'green' injected into the men in blue: Last week, the Texas League released an update to its list of umpiring crews for the 2011 season, but since that announcement, two more changes have been made. In the last two days, veteran Texas League ump Kellen Levy was promoted to Triple-A and Alex Ortiz was granted a personal leave of absence this season. Their two replacements - Matt Benham and Charles Billington - were promoted from the California League. As the roster stands, just five of the league's 12 umpires spent 2010 in the Texas League, while six have moved up from the Single-A ranks.

Texas League prospects in other camps: The Kansas City Royals are certainly not the only team whose top prospects have made an impact to this point in Spring Training. In fact, many of the Texas League's top prospects have taken advantage of their playing time in big league camp. For Oakland, infielders Jemile Weeks (5-13, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R) and Grant Green (4-9, 2 RBI, R) have stepped in admirably. The same can be said for the Angels' uber-prospect Mike Trout, who has gone 4-11 with 3 walks and a .500 on-base percentage in 8 spring games. On the mound, San Diego's Casey Kelly has seen some action, giving up just two hits in five scoreless innings so far. Kelly is a candidate to start the season opener for San Antonio as they visit the Naturals on April 7th.

The Spring Training Report appears on nwanaturals.com weekly.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark, located in Springdale. Visit our website, nwanaturals.com, for information on season tickets and ticket plans.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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